WASHINGTON - Over the weekend, elected Republicans continued to distance themselves from Senate candidate Roy Moore of Alabama, who is vying to join their ranks but is accused of pursuing sexual or romantic relationships with teenage girls when he was in his 30s.

Some congressional Democrats, too, stepped up their criticism of Moore for not dropping out of the race. But the party as a whole continued to grapple with how far to interject itself into a campaign in which the national party's presence could alienate voters in a state that resoundingly supported outsider Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election.

Meanwhile, some senior Trump administration officials hedged their comments about Moore withdrawing from the race for the once seemingly safe Senate seat vacated by Jeff Sessions, who became attorney general.

A Washington Post report last week detailed the stories of four women who said Moore had pursued relationships with them while they were teenagers and he was in his 30s, including one, Leigh Corfman, who said Moore undressed himself and touched her over her underwear when she was 14 and he was 32.

Following the allegations, many Republican senators issued statements saying that if the stories are true, Moore should drop out of the race. Moore has denied the allegations, calling them "fake news."

But one Republican on Sunday, Sen. Patrick Toomey of swing state Pennsylvania, was ready to take the women at their word and called for Moore to exit the race.

"You know, this is a terrible situation, nearly 40-year-old allegation, we'll probably never know for sure exactly what happened," Toomey said. "But from my point of view, you know, I have to say, I think the accusations have more credibility than the denial. I think it would be best if Roy would just step aside."

Toomey added that Sen. Luther Strange, whom Moore beat in the GOP primary, was a "good candidate" for a write-in campaign.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a frequent Republican critic of the president, said that "the party ought not to be for" Moore's candidacy.

"You have some corroboration, and we're not talking now about convicting somebody of some criminal offense," Kasich said in an interview on ABC's "This Week." "It's just really a matter of whether he ought to be the candidate, the standard-bearer of the Republican Party. And I just think he shouldn't be."

Kasich, too, mentioned the possibility of a write-in bid.

But several senior Trump officials seemed ready to give Moore the benefit of the doubt. Marc Short, the White House director of legislative affairs, said that Moore needs time to defend himself against the allegations and that President Trump will look more closely at the issue after he returns from a trip to Asia.

"There's no Senate seat more important than the notion of child pedophilia," Short said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "I mean, that's reality. But having said that, he has not been proven guilty. We have to afford him the chance to defend himself."

Short noted that this week, Moore "plans to come forward with more evidence to support his innocence."

In an interview on "This Week," White House counselor Kellyanne Conway emphasized that if Moore did what he is accused of doing, he should step aside. But she repeatedly declined to say whether she believes the allegations.

"Let me ask you again: Do you have any doubt about the veracity of the accusations?" host Martha Raddatz said.

"Martha, I only know what I read," Conway responded, "and I take very seriously allegations like this, particularly when they involved somebody who happens to be one of my daughter's ages."Raddatz interrupted: "So you believe these . . ."

"I know what I read," Conway said. "I don't know the accusers, and I don't know Judge Moore. But I also want to make sure that we as a nation are not always prosecuting people through the press. He has denied the allegations."

When asked by Raddatz what "standard of proof" Conway would accept for her to advise Trump to call for Moore to step aside, Conway noted that Moore is not on trial.

"It would be a very dangerous precedent for any of us, for any person in this country, to just be cast aside as guilty because of press reports," Conway said.

Appearing on CNN's "State of the Union," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the allegations against Moore require a closer look.

"I'm not an expert on this issue, but what I would say is people should investigate this issue and get the facts," he said. "And if these allegations are true, then absolutely, this is incredibly inappropriate behavior."

Asked by host Jake Tapper whether he believes the allegations, Mnuchin said, "It appears that there is a significant issue here that needs to be addressed."

Senate Democrats continued to tussle with how to effectively respond to the allegations that suddenly put a seat in ruby-red Alabama in play - and with how to address the prospect of Moore joining their chamber.

On "Meet the Press," Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Minn., floated the idea of expelling Moore from the Senate if he wins.

"We may not have much choice on that but we have choice on something else," said Klobuchar, who recently co-sponsored a bill requiring sexual harassment training for senators and their staff members. "That is that you can expel a senator once they are in with two-thirds of the vote after the ethics committee does an investigation."

But Richard Durbin, Ill., the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, said that unseating a senator is "several steps removed from where we are today," arguing that Trump needs to "do more when it comes to this situation in Alabama."

Since the women came forward, Democratic nominee Doug Jones has not seen an influx of national surrogates for his campaign, which could hurt more than help him in the Republican stronghold. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., a civil rights icon, stumped in Prichard, Alabama, for Jones. But Lewis' chief of staff, Michael Collins, said the congressman's trip "was planned a week and a half before the revelations."

After the allegations surfaced last week, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders issued a statement saying that Trump "believes that if these allegations are true, Judge Moore will do the right thing and step aside."

She also said "a mere allegation" should not "destroy a person's life."

Asked about Moore, Trump more recently has told reporters traveling with him in Asia that "I have not seen very much about him, about it."

"And, you know, I put out a statement yesterday that he'll do the right thing," the president added.

Short, the Trump aide, said the president will focus more on the Alabama race when he returns to Washington this week.

"I think the president's obviously on a very important trip, and when he returns, I think we'll have that conversation," Short told host Chuck Todd. "But I think that people here in this town have an inflated view of what our views are. And it's important for the people of Alabama to be allowed the chance to discern the truth here and make the right decision."

"Roy Moore is somebody who graduated from West Point, he served our country in Vietnam, he's been elected multiple times statewide in Alabama," Short said. "The people in Alabama know Roy Moore better than we do here in D.C., and I think we have to be very cautious . . . of allegations that are 40 years old that arise a month before Election Day."